In the face of the coronavirus pandemic and the need for social distancing, how can the largest number of individuals continue to provide meaningful science education to their students and children? They need to access high quality content that can be customized to teach what they want; they need to integrate that material with assessments that drive active learning and skills development; they need to track learner performance; they may need to bring several learners together in an online class. All of these needs are traditionally met in a school classroom or in an online course developed by an institution. Now, society needs all of these capabilities to be open and free if we are to sustain effective education at scale during the pandemic. LabXchange provides all of these fundamental capabilities to anyone with an internet connection and for free.
The content on LabXchange is both created at Harvard, and curated from a growing number of leading research universities and educational organizations. This content, including virtual lab simulations and interactive animations, can be remixed into customized learning narratives that facilitate the integration of high school and college curricula or learning and research experiences. Meanwhile, social features empower and connect learners, educators, and researchers worldwide, encouraging all users to take control of their learning and to join together to solve real-world problems as a community.
LabXchange democratizes education by putting the power to create personalized online learning in the hands of everyone. The platform provides the capacity to teach online that has previously been restricted to the creators of massive open online courses (MOOCs). In addition to and driven by all that we have learned from social networking platforms, LabXchange brings together learners, educators and researchers to share their perspectives and experiences in discovering and engaging in the process of science. We invite you to become a part of our community!